Gli infedeli

"The Players" isn't politically correct nor is it for all audiences but it's zany characters and storylines make for an entertaining watch.

In this comedy, a collection of vignettes captures the foolishness of several men as they fumble with fidelity and relationships.

Riccardo Scamarcio holds ground in this Italian remake of the French film "Les Infidèles". Fast paced and at times over the top, "The Players" works best when the three main characters are on screen together (which unfortunately isn't very often). However, the film does offer laughs when you'd feel the most uncomfortable. It's a decent enough remake with definite Italian flare.

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I haven't seen the French originals, so will just cover this one with no comparisons to source material.

The upside is that, the stories differ enough from each other to keep us interested. The downside: Said interest remaining kind of unrewarded.

The opening act was okay and what followed it had the mosty dynamic and convincing acting. I liked how smoothly of the story of the "glory hole guy" unfolded. The hallucination plot was refreshing despite the cover-up coming with flaws.

The photography has character, and the rhytm is just fine.

Overall, not a bad movie. But comes short of being "cinema" is structured more like a Twilight Zone anthology with "sexual betrayal" replacing "supernatural mystery".

Nothing new in the lazy script: the different man/woman perspective on erotic desire, a poor unimaginative dialogue, many scenes borrowed from previous 1960's Italian comedies (Signore e Signori, Sedotta e Abbandonata come to mind). However, it is mildly entertaining and worth your time, if you like the genre. Probably the most original episode is the Fantozzi's like behavior of a desperate herbal remedies rep that is dying to get laid at a corporate meeting dinner, and progressively downgrades his aim for a bed companion in the course of the evening. The acting is a bit limited and as a consequence characters are flat and uninspiring.

A depiction of what great lengths philandering husbands will go to satisfy their unbridled libido. Some vignettes are funny but one particular story may hurt the sensibilities of women because of its offensive message and a subtle nod to the husband's machinations.

One of the characters poses a question towards the film's end: when we screw others, are we screwing ourselves? Another emphatically responds: no, we screw those of us who're screwing her. Profound or absurd? Take your pick.

For whatever its worth, the duo Riccardo Scamarcio and Valerio Mastandrea make the viewer laugh at the nutty situations they find themselves in and, perhaps, at himself.

Don't mistake this for the 2021 French film of the same title.

*" 'Gli Infedeli' is a 2020 Italian anthology film that weaves stories of infidelity and male fragility, with moments of sharp wit but frequently falling into predictable patterns. It does well in some genres, notably in being very quick-witted with an odd streak of dark humor, though it falters on uneven pacing and character development.". The cast in ensemble-Riccardo Scamarcio, Valerio Mastandrea-are energetic performers, but the film banks a lot on stereotypes regarding love and relationships without contributing anything new to the genre. *Gli Infedeli* is, after all, watchable but basically uneven: there's laughter here, but it doesn't finally affect the viewer.